Immunology of Infectious Disease News 5.29 July 26, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYNIH-Supported Scientists Elicit Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies to HIV in Calves Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have achieved a significant step forward, eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV by immunizing calves. The findings offer insights for HIV vaccine design, and support further study of modified bovine antibodies as HIV therapeutics or prevention tools in humans. [Press release from the Scripps Institute discussing online prepublication in Nature] Press Release | Abstract | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)Translation Is Actively Regulated during the Differentiation of CD8+ Effector T Cells The authors characterized the translatome of virus-specific CD8+ effector T cells during acute infection of mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Antigen-specific T cells exerted dynamic translational control of gene expression that correlated with cell proliferation and stimulation via the T cell antigen receptor. [Nat Immunol] Abstract A Peptide-Based Viral Inactivator Inhibits Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Mice and Fetuses Researchers report that a synthetic peptide derived from the stem region of Zika virus (ZIKV) envelope protein, designated Z2, potently inhibits infection of ZIKV and other flaviviruses in vitro. [Nat Commun] Full Article Scientists showed that the rs17481334 G variant, naturally occurring in the ERAP1 3′ UTR, preserves ERAP1 from miR-UL112-5p-mediated degradation. Specifically, human cytomegalovirus miR-UL112-5p bound the 3′ UTR of ERAP1 A variant, but not the 3′ UTR of ERAP1 G variant, and, accordingly, ERAP1 expression was reduced both at RNA and protein levels only in human fibroblasts homozygous for the A variant. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Investigators examined CD4 T-cell differentiation and lung homing during primary M. tuberculosis (Mtb) infection of rhesus macaques. Mtb-specific CD4 T cells simultaneously appeared in the airways and blood ~21–28 days post exposure, indicating that recently primed effectors are quickly recruited into the lungs after entering circulation. [Mucosal Immunol] Abstract Seminal Vesicle Fluid Increases the Efficacy of Intravaginal HSV-2 Vaccination Researchers analyzed whether the seminal vesicle fluid, which contributes almost 60% of the seminal plasma volume in mice, could modulate the immune response against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). [Mucosal Immunol] Abstract A comprehensive study was conducted on a cohort of 70 patients on clinical manifestations, viral loads, modulation of cytokines, serum interferon level, immune related gene expression in peripheral blood cells, and dynamic changes of circulating dendritic cells during the acute phase of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infection. [Sci Rep] Full Article The authors analyzed artificial microRNAs (amiRs) delivered by self-complementary adeno-associated virus (scAAV) vectors for treatment of human adenovirus (hAd)5 infections in immunosuppressed Syrian hamsters. In vitro evaluation of amiRs targeting the E1A, pTP, IVa2, and hexon genes of hAd5 revealed that two scAAV vectors containing three copies of amiR-pTP and three copies of amiR-E1A, or six copies of amiR-pTP, efficiently inhibited hAd5 replication and improved the viability of hAd5-infected cells. [Mol Ther Nucleic Acids] Full Article HIVMass Cytometric Analysis of HIV Entry, Replication, and Remodeling in Tissue CD4+ T Cells To characterize susceptibility to HIV infection, researchers phenotyped infected tonsillar T cells by single-cell mass cytometry and created comprehensive maps to identify which subsets of CD4+ T cells support HIV fusion and productive infection. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Press Release | Graphical Abstract CXCR4-tropic HIVs infect a broad range of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) subtypes, including hematopoietic stem cells, which are multi-potent and long-lived. However, CCR5-tropic HIV infection is limited to more differentiated progenitor cells with life spans that are less well understood. Consistent with emerging data that restricted progenitor cells can be long-lived, the authors detected persistent HIV in restricted HSPC populations from optimally treated people. [PLoS Pathog] Full Article Digoxin Reveals a Functional Connection between HIV-1 Integration Preference and T-Cell Activation Using a selective high-throughput chemical screen, scientists discovered that the cardiac glycoside digoxin inhibited wild-type HIV-1 infection more potently than HIV-1 bearing a single point mutation (N74D) in the capsid protein. [PLoS Pathog] Full Article Subscribe to our sister publications: Human Immunology News & Immune Regulation News. | |
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REVIEWSThe authors draw on model systems and human data to discuss multiple facets of tuberculosis biology and their relationship to the overall heterogeneity observed in the human disease. [Nat Rev Immunol] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the immunology of infectious disease research field. | |
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SCIENCE NEWSJohnson & Johnson announced encouraging first-in-human clinical data for an investigational HIV-1 vaccine regimen in development at its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies. In an oral presentation of the early stage Phase I/IIa APPROACH study, the “mosaic”-based vaccine regimen from Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V. appeared to be well-tolerated and elicited HIV-1 antibody responses in 100% of healthy volunteers. [Press release from Johnson & Johnson discussing research presented at the 9th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2017), Paris] Press Release Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced detailed 48-week results from two Phase III studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of a fixed-dose combination of bictegravir, a novel investigational integrase strand transfer inhibitor, and emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide, a dual-NRTI backbone, for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-naïve adults. [Press release from Gilead Sciences, Inc. discussing research presented at the 9th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2017), Paris] Press Release | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSGeoVax Labs, Inc. announced that it is collaborating with the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, and the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, MD, for advanced development of a preventive vaccine against Lassa hemorrhagic fever virus. [GeoVax Labs, Inc.] Press Release Debiopharm International SA announced that it has been selected to receive a funding award from the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) to advance the development of its antibiotic Debio 1453, a FabI inhibitor specifically targeting Neisseria gonorrhoeae. [Debiopharm International SA] Press Release Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. announced completion of enrollment of the Phase II LIMT HDV (Lambda Interferon MonoTherapy in HDV) Study, a monotherapy trial of pegylated interferon lambda 1a as a potential treatment for chronic hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection. [Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc.] Press Release Merck announced the presentation of results from the DRIVE-AHEAD study, the second of two pivotal Phase III clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of doravirine, the company’s investigational, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. [Merck & Co., Inc.] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSSwaziland Makes Major Strides against Its AIDS Epidemic New data from Swaziland, a tiny country in southern Africa, provide some of the most convincing evidence yet that aggressively ramping up treatment for HIV/AIDS works on a population level to cut the rate of new infections. The kingdom has had one of the worst HIV/AIDS epidemics in the world, but since 2011, its massive scale-up of testing and treatment has slashed the rate of new infections by 44%. [ScienceInsider] Editorial Budding UK Innovation Agency Gains Cash — and Clout UK scientists fearful for their research funds ahead of Brexit were cheered when the government announced it would plough an extra £4.7 billion (US$6.1 billion) into research and development by 2020–21. But the biggest winner from the largely industry-focused cash may be a government innovation agency that is rapidly gaining clout. [Nature News] Editorial Ding, Ding, Ding! CRISPR Patent Fight Enters Next Round The University of California has fired another legal salvo in the prolonged patent battle over CRISPR, the revolutionary gene-editing technology that has spawned a billion dollar industry. [ScienceInsider] Editorial Senate Spending Panel Would Squeeze Science Agencies but Exceed Trump Request A Senate spending panel voted to reduce funding in 2018 below current levels for several science agencies under its jurisdiction. [ScienceInsider] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW Keystone Symposia: Progress and Pathways toward an Effective HIV Vaccine NEW Keystone Symposia: Emerging Technologies in Vaccine Discovery and Development Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Senior Bioinformatician – Malaria Genomics (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute) NEW Mouse Scientist – T Cell-Based Therapy (Tessa Therapeutics Pte. Ltd.) Full Faculty Member – Immunology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) Postdoctoral Fellow – HIV Molecular Biology/Immunology (University of California, San Francisco) Research Fellow – HIV/AIDS Research (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) Assistant/Associate Professor – Disease-Specific Immunology/Vaccinology (Brown University) Postdoctoral Position – Cell Biology and Innate Immunity (Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden) Lab Aide – Infectious Disease Sciences Program (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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Home Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 5.29 | Jul 26 2017